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Unclinched: Stars Win in a Shootout Against Golden Knights

Big news: Jason Robertson made it to 40.

The Dallas Stars hosted the Vegas Golden Knights for a quiet, staid night of hockey in Texas.

Just kidding. With every bubble team in the West hinged on the outcome of this game, this had wider implications than just the second wild card spot.

With more eyes than usual trained on Texas tonight, the Stars had their work cut out for them in a Golden Knights team that also had everything to lose.

First Period

Neither team is going quietly into that good night.

Shortly after Stars twitter began begging the Stars to score, Luke Glendening did in fact score a goal.

Into his own net.

What made the goal truly frustrating is that it looked like, without intervention, Jake Oettinger would have made the save. Unfortunately, he had Glendening to assist. A turnover by the Stars at center ice lead to a rush for William Carrier, who tried a centering pass to Chandler StephensonTurnover at center ice leads to a rush, William Carrier tried a centering pass to Chandler Stephenson, puck went in instead off Glendening.

Shots: Dallas 8, Vegas 8
Goals: Dallas 0, Vegas 1

Second Period

Listen, the second period was a lot of two evenly matched teams skating back and forth with varying attempts at scoring but what really matters is that Jason Robertson scored his first of the night, and all of hockey twitter celebrated.

Vegas later dodged a bullet on a Hintz-Robertson 2-on-1.

And then what happened? Chandler Stephenson got the go ahead on a power play due to a Glendening penalty. There were four seconds left in the period.

Shots: Dallas 18, Vegas 20
Goals: Dallas 1, Vegas 2

Third Period

Robertson scored his second of the game and his fortieth of the season on a tip in from John Klingberg.

Oettinger saved the Stars bacon in the third with a big save when Evgenii Dadonov and William Karlsson had a 2-on-1 against Ryan Suter.

And also this one:

The good part is, should the Stars actually clinch the playoff spot, Oettinger does in fact seem playoff ready.

Roope Hintz and Jack Eichel had matching minors late in the third in a scuffle in front of Vegas’s net, but nothing came of the 4-on-4, the Stars would rather play 3-on-3.

Shots: Dallas 28, Vegas 34
Goals: Dallas 2, Vegas 2

Overtime/Shootout

Robertson, Hintz, and Miro Heiskanen began overtime for Dallas.

Hintz got tripped a few minutes in, but wasn’t given a call. The best scoring chance they had was right after this, when Robertson made a great defensive play and Hintz had the opportunity to score on a breakaway. Unfortunately: Thompson on the other end.

Vladislav Namestnikov lost an edge on a breakaway and ran into Thompson, pinching Thompson’s leg between him and the goal post. The goaltending situation in Vegas is pretty dire right now, with Robin Lehner out with season-ending surgery. Thompson took a few minutes to get his feet back under him, but played the rest of overtime and the shootout.

In a seven round shootout, Rick Bowness had Radek Faksa and Namestnikov shoot before Miro Heiskanen, for reasons that are unclear at this juncture. Heiskanen scored the only goal in the shootout and the Stars’ playoff chances live another day.

Their magic number is now one, with the Arizona Coyotes and the Anaheim Ducks coming up on Wednesday and Friday.

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